PUTRAJAYA: The Health Ministry is conducting tests on an infant formula milk, said to have caused babies to fall ill, to determine what exactly was in the product.

Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Food Safety and Security Division was still carrying out the tests to determine if the milk was safe for consumption, after the issue went viral on the social media recently.

"The ministry has taken note of the consumers' complaints, where a child was said to have developed rashes on the neck and crotch areas, cough, diarrhoea, and fever after taking the milk," he said in a statement today.

The post had claimed that the complainant had gone to the district health office in Jerantut to lodge a report and discovered there was an earlier report involving another child who had similar symptoms after drinking the same brand of milk.

Dr Noor Hisham said formula milk for children sold in the market must comply to 91B Food Regulations 1985 of the Food Act 1983.

The ministry, he added, was always sensitive to matters that involved consumers' health.

He urged those with any queries regarding food safety issues to contact the nearest district and state health offices or the ministry via http://moh.spab.gov.myor the Food Safety and Security Division via the social media platform at www.facebook.com/bkkmhq.

Since last year, concerns about fake formula milk have grown, especially with the seizure of 210 boxes of the milk worth about RM42,000 in Johor late last year.

A baby was reported to have suffered severe vomiting after taking infant formula which was later found to be fake.

A father of a 10-month-old baby girl had shared how his daughter developed red spots everywhere on her body, face, hands and back after drinking what he suspected could have been conterfeit infant milk formulas.